Tough Times for Restaurants. Plus Critics.

Grace finds Mary's. Charlotte loves Lolo. Ellis praises the Ritz.

Welcome everyone. A relatively quiet week in the world of food and eating. But some worrying signs for the hospitality industry, which has been sailing very close to the wind since before COVID.

Hospitality Industry Worries About Business Rate ‘Cliff Edge’

At the height of COVID, the government provided relief from business rates for most bars and restaurants — a gesture towards giving them a chance to survive. The relief is scheduled to end in March, and the industry is rightly concerned.

According to Drinks Business, “Hospitality businesses across the UK could face their bills quadrupling, totalling tens of thousands of pounds per venue, if business rates relief ends as planned on 31 March.”

Many restaurants still haven’t recovered from pandemic difficulties. Brexit has caused an acute labour shortage, as well. And inflation has put huge pressure on profit margins. Many restaurants are just on the edge of survival. So a dramatic increase in tax will force many into insolvency.

I hope the new government will reconsider the impending change of policy. the industry has suffered cruelly the last few years. A little breathing space for recovery and growth would be welcome.

Michelin Stars Lead to More Closures?

Speaking of closures, The Economist reports on a new study that shows restaurants with Michelin stars are 40% more likely to go under than those of similar age that don’t have the same accolades.

The study, conducted at University College London, looked at the dining scene in New York.

But in The Times, Tony Turnbull offers his perspective.

The challenges confronting the hospitality sector, from greasy spoon to garlanded pleasure palace, are well documented. Food inflation has only just come down from its double-digit peak, government support for energy bills has ended and staff shortages have seen wages rise dramatically. Many restaurants are also having to repay Covid support loans and landlords are putting up rents to recover losses during successive lockdowns. Meanwhile, customers have less disposable income.

So a curse? Perhaps. But of Michelin’s making? I’d be wary of conflating correlation with causation.

I agree. But the story remains: It’s harder than ever to make money in the restaurant business, so given the option, I think we should all try to frequent locally owned spots and be supportive of the places we like best.

Critics Wrap Up

✍🏻 indicates a review that you should read for the writing.
🍽️ indicates a place that sounds excellent and is probably worth a try.

• 🍽️ Charlotte Ivers (Sunday Times) is the latest to visit Lolo, the new place in Bermondsey from Jose Pizzaro. “One day, no doubt, he will own the whole of Bermondsey Street; every building will bear a permutation of his name. The feudal lord of not-quite south London. I, for one, will welcome our tapas-bearing overlord.”

• Giles Coren (Times) tries Toklas in Aldwych and continues his weird thing about phones. “For the absence of smartphones alone, even without the enchanting cooking, had already convinced me that Toklas is very much on the side of the angels.”

  

• 🍽️ Grace Dent (Guardian) reviews Mary’s, the new place from Jason Atherton in Mayfair. “There is a chance that by 2028 Atherton might be running all the restaurants and employing all the chefs in the western hemisphere. I would try to be more uppity about this, but I’m still too high as a kite on the calvados doughnut to take the higher ground.”

• David Ellis (Standard) visits the Ritz for his first official review. “The Ritz is the restaurant I routinely name as London’s best, because it is. Only no one ever believes me, on the grounds it’s too preposterously obvious to possibly be true. But it is. Accept no substitute, not even the afternoon tea.” I had an awful experience at the Ritz, so I vehemently disagree with this review.

• Andy Hayler (independent critic) checks out Les Deux Garçons in Crouch End. “If you ordered three courses and shared a modest bottle of wine then a likely bill per person would be around £100. This seems entirely fair to me given the high quality of the cooking on display. This is the kind of neighbourhood restaurant we would all love to have near us. The residents of Crouch End are very lucky.”

• ✍🏻 Nick Lander (jancisrobinson.com) reviews four places, two in Paris and two in London. The London spots include 64 Goodge Street and Chez Bruce. But really, it’s a piece about menus. “Here are four menus, all of which I greedily enjoyed last week, each very different in their composition, in their style and in their purpose.”

• Gavin Hanly (Hot Dinners) test drives Sesta, the replacement for Pidgin in Hackney. “While the setting shares many characteristics with Pidgin, the offering at Sesta is a very different thing. That works well in its favour as Pidgin did something groundbreaking during its time, so going in a different direction feels like the right move.”

• Tom Parker Bowles (Mail on Sunday) writes about Benihana, the global teppanyaki chain, which has a new outlet in Chelsea. The review is barely fit for TripAdvisor, but is, needless to say, negative.

• ✍🏻 Tim Hayward (FT) aims to fall back in love with fine dining in Paris.

• William Sitwell (Telegraph) was in Devonshire. Lily Subbotin (Independent) was in Colchester. Jay Rayner (Observer) was in St. Andrews, and delivers a negative review of a place that I love. But, it turns out, I am a middle aged American golfer, and the place was apparently made for me.

Thanks for reading Professional Lunch. I hope you have a fantastic week. Happy lunching!